Leipzig, 9 January, 2015. The cruel events in Paris solidify us. We are deeply shocked by this heinous and fanatical terrorist attack on freedom and human dignity. Our sincere sympathy and great respect are with the victims and their families.

Freedom of the media and freedom of the artists are immutable values of our European democracies. This also includes pluralism of beliefs, competition between different political attitudes and variety of religions to our enlightened culture. Diversity and openness make Europe more worth living.

In this sense: “We are all Charlie!”

To us this commitment is extraordinary special, because the laureates of the Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig consist also of the cartoonist Kurt Westergaard who was threatened with death by Islamists because of his Mohammed cartoons.

The commitment of the Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig is based on the demands for freedom of millions of people from the Soviet Bloc during Cold War. These demands finally led to the fall of Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain. An essential message of the Leipzig protestors in the fall of 1989 was their demand for a free press and freedom of expression. In this tradition, the Media Foundation donated the “Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media”, because freedom is always the freedom of the other.

Foundation

Whoever wants to support and sponsor the development of a free media has to consider more than the mere economic and employment-oriented aspects. A media centre becomes especially important and attractive when it represents a climate where the media’s great responsibility towards society is recognized as a duty as well as a challenge.

The Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig public savings bank wants to contribute to this climate. One of its key commitments is the fostering of training and further education possibilities for young people in the media field. This involves scholarships (e.g. through the Leipzig Media Award), targeted project support, and the organization of civic education events, such as for the commemoration of the Peaceful Revolution of 1989 in Leipzig.

The Foundation projects are financed by the Foundation itself as well as third party contributions and donations.

Teaching and Research

The Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig is particularly committed to education and training in the media sector. Therefore, the Foundation cooperates closely with local universities and other educational institutions and founded institutes, launched initiatives and projects and created the necessary infrastructure for media-related activities. The respective core institutions are:

the “Leipzig School of Media” (LSoM) with its part-time academic master degree programs and seminar programs,

the “European Institute for Journalism and Communication Research” (EIJC) with scholarships granted throughout of Europe,

special events for the genres of radio feature and radio play

Discover these areas by visiting the related web pages and learn more about the funding spectrum of the Media Foundation.

Leipzig, 9 January, 2015. The cruel events in Paris solidify us. We are deeply shocked by this heinous and fanatical terrorist attack on freedom and human dignity. Our sincere sympathy and great respect are with the victims and their families.

Freedom of the media and freedom of the artists are immutable values of our European democracies. This also includes pluralism of beliefs, competition between different political attitudes and variety of religions to our enlightened culture. Diversity and openness make Europe more worth living.

In this sense: “We are all Charlie!”

To us this commitment is extraordinary special, because the laureates of the Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig consist also of the cartoonist Kurt Westergaard who was threatened with death by Islamists because of his Mohammed cartoons.

The commitment of the Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig is based on the demands for freedom of millions of people from the Soviet Bloc during Cold War. These demands finally led to the fall of Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain. An essential message of the Leipzig protestors in the fall of 1989 was their demand for a free press and freedom of expression. In this tradition, the Media Foundation donated the “Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media”, because freedom is always the freedom of the other.

Leipzig Media Award

The Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig is committed to the memory of the Peaceful Revolution that took place in East Germany in 1989. Freedom of speech and unrestricted gathering of information through a free and independent press were key demands of the civil rights activists and demonstrators during the Leipzig Monday demonstrations at that time.

Through the annual awarding of the “Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media”, the Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig supports the freedom of press and with it the memento of the events of 1989.

The defense of the freedom of press is more important than ever. Even in free societies it is endangered: the patterns of suppression of information are becoming more subtle. The “Leipzig Media Congress”, which was organized by the Media Foundation in October 2010 and which formed the thematic framework of the award ceremony 2010, was dedicated to this issue.

By awarding further prizes – such as the “Talent Dove” for the best documentary of a talented newcomer at the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film, the “Günther Eich Prize” and the “Axel Eggebrecht Prize”, the Foundation promotes culturally and qualitatively sophisticated work in text, sound and film.

All awards of the Media Foundation are summarised under the generic term “Leipzig Media Award”.

Media Campus

The “Media Campus” in the Leipzig district of Gohlis was erected by the Media Foundation. Together with the historic Villa Ida building where the actual seat of the Foundation is located it forms an interesting ensemble and thus literally combines old and new.

“Media Campus Villa Ida” is home of the “Leipzig School of Media” (LSoM), a subsidiary of the Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig. In cooperation with local universities, the LSoM offers part-time master courses for media professionals. www.leipzigschoolofmedia.de

The building includes a large hall for events with a capacity of up to 280 seats, which can be divided by a movable partition wall. This room can also be used as a lecture hall. On the first floor you find two seminar rooms with 25 seats each, a training room for video editing with ten seats and an audio recording studio. On the top floor there is a PC room with 23 seats and offices for lecturers. In addition, the building accommodates a small public bistro, which also supplies the Media Campus and four apartments for scholars/guest lecturers.

Hotel Michaelis Leipzig runs our “Restaurant Campus” and is the exclusive partner for the catering of every event at “Media Campus”.